The present invention relates to a battery clamp, and more particularly, to a battery clamp including a rotating bolt with flanges cast into one clamping arm and a nut cast into the other clamping arm of the battery clamp.
Prior art battery clamps are designed with a tensioning means for drawing the clamping arms together. Because battery clamps are generally constructed from a soft molded lead or lead alloy, removing the battery clamp from a battery terminal usually requires prying the clamping arms apart or special tooling to pull the battery clamp off the battery terminal without damaging the battery.
When the clamping arms are forced apart, the terminals are often damaged. Damage to the battery posts usually requires replacing the battery because breakage of the terminals often entails breakage of the battery housing. Further, forcing the clamping arms apart generally damages the soft lead alloy of the clamping arms beyond repair. Finally, terminal pullers are not always readily available, especially for emergency road-side repairs.
The manufacture of prior art battery clamps tends to be labor intensive. After the body of the battery clamp is cast, some type of bolt and nut assembly must be combined with the casting to form the finished battery clamp. Special fixtures are often employed to accurately insert the bolt and nut into the clamping arms.
The present invention overcomes disadvantages of prior art by providing a battery clamp with an integral structure whereby the rotation of the bolt in one direction brings the clamping arms together and rotation in the other direction forces them apart. The invention also takes advantage of the low friction between lead materials and other harder metals, particularly steel. Because lead and lead alloys do not adhere to the bolt, the bolt and nut can be cast directly into the clamping arms of the battery clamp without interfering with the rotation of the bolt and operation of the battery clamp.